A college consulting company has been asked to investigate Lehigh University’s women’s field hockey program after “very serious allegations” from an anonymous source were sent to Lehigh President John Simon, the university confirmed.

The nature of the allegations were not described in a letter from Lehigh Athletic Director Joe Sterrett that was addressed to “Possible Participants in External Review.”

But Sterrett’s letter, which was viewed by The Morning Call, said they were enough to compel an outside review.

“Some very serious allegations were communicated via email to the Patriot League Office and the Office of the President,” Sterrett.

“The source was anonymous, however the nature of the alleged behaviors compels me to ensure that we determine the veracity of these claims through use of an external review process.”

Lehigh University confirmed Sterrett’s letter, but would not comment further.

The review is being conducted by the Reno-based Pictor Group, which typically advises college athletic programs on topics from policies and practices to personnel assessment and financial planning.

Carolyn Femovich, a senior partner at the Pictor Group, will conduct the review. Femovich was executive director of the Patriot League, the conference that Lehigh’s field hockey team competes in, from 1999 to 2015.

The Patriot League confirmed it received an email about allegations, but Ryan Sakamoto, assistant commissioner for communications, declined to comment further.

In the letter, Sterrett says he asked for an unbiased, external group to conduct a “thorough, objective and expedient review of our field hockey program.”

An external review is relevant, he wrote, “because our standard internal process of program review, program development and program oversight have not produced concerns of the magnitude that were anonymously reported.”

The letter says the review will include interviews with anyone who participates in or works closely with the field hockey program, as well as those who worked with the program during the past two years.

The review is expected to start this week, Sterrett said in the letter. He said he expects a summary of findings to be completed within a few weeks.

The Pictor Group is a four-year-old company founded by two former college administrators, Kathy Lindahl and Cary Groth. It has worked with more than 20 colleges.

Lehigh President Simon asked the Pictor Group to do the review after some people raised concerns about Lehigh’s field hockey program, Femovich said.

She declined to provide details about those concerns.

Attempts to reach head coach Caitlin Dallmeyer for comment were not successful.

The field hockey team, which competes in the fall, ended its 2017 season with a record of 5-13, including 2-4 in Patriot League play.